LEST WE FORGET
Pilot Officer Ronald Charles BECKLEY
Service No: 400615
Born: Echuca VIC, 2 November 1918
Enlisted in the RAAF: 18 September 1940
Unit: No. 602 Squadron (RAF)
Died: Air Operations: (No. 602 Squadron Spitfire aircraft P8723), English Channel, 22 January 1942, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of John Charles and Elizabeth Amanda Beckley, of Moreland, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: Essendon VIC
Remembered: Panel 111, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 118, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 22 January 1942 Spitfire P8723 took off to patrol for mine-sweepers. Fifty miles from the coast en route to the objective, Beckley reported engine trouble with smoke seen coming from exhaust. Beckley baled out at 3,000 feet and was seen to climb into an inflated rubber dinghy. He was kept in sight by patrolling aircraft until dusk with fixes being given to Control who reported that rescue boats were on the way. The boats signalled that they could not find the location. Owing to the intense cold it was considered that Beckley could not survive more than hours and he was not seen to move after entering the dinghy.
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 163/23/148
Bibliography:
Ilbery, P.L.T. (Peter Leslie Thomas) (422957) Hatching an Air Force: 2SFTS, 5SFTS, 1BFTS Uranquinty and Wagga Wagga, Banner Books Maryborough QLD 4650, 2002